THE Welsh Rugby Union fears it could lose thousands of pounds after it believed it had booked the late king of pop, Michael Jackson to play at the Millennium Stadium.

The governing body of the sport in Wales paid £5,000 to a music agent in the belief he could arrange for the Thriller star, who died in 2009, to play at the Stadium this Saturday, October 8.

Obviously the dead superstar, who devoted his life to caring for children, won’t be at the stadium but in an even bigger let down for everyone concerned a concert featuring former X Factor stars Leona Lewis and JLS IS going ahead.

Jackson, nicknamed Wacko Jacko by cynics in the UK tabloid press who failed to recognise him as a humanitarian figure, played the old National Stadium when he was the biggest star on the planet, during his 1988 Bad tour and again in 1992, around the same time people were really beginning to wonder about him.

The WRU had hoped to stage a major pop festival in a bid to boost its profits with the national side currently playing a series of early morning rugby games in New Zealand.

It paid £5,000 to a Mr C Hunt, in the belief that he could arrange for Jackson to headline the festival.

A spokesman for the bank which repossessed Jackson’s Neverland Ranch said: “Erm, Mr Jackson’s dead. I’m not aware of any concert in Cardiff or anywhere else in London.”

WRU chief executive Roger Lewis said: “There’s a lot of disillusionment in the organisation for what has happened but we can’t despair and are looking forward.

“Spirit is beginning to rise and the committee who organise our concerts are looking forward and beginning preparing for next year.

“We have had a lot of money in from Michael Jackson concerts over the years and it was unfortunate because it has been such a disaster this year.

“We are worried about the future after what has happened but we’ve been here for more than a century and I have no doubt we’ll be here for another 100 years if we just check whether an artist is still alive before booking future concerts.”

Mr Lewis, a former BBC Radio One controller, added that he still hopes to enjoy Saturday’s concert: “It’s not all bad news, at least The Black Eyed Peas have pulled out.”